Air Peace Chairman, Allen Onyema, has warned that Nigeria’s aviation industry is facing an existential crisis, saying several domestic airlines could cease operations within the next 30 days unless urgent steps are taken to address the challenges confronting operators.
Onyema spoke on the sidelines of the launch of Pathways, Pilgrimage and Destiny, the biography of Med-View Airline Chairman, Muneer Bankole.
The Air Peace chairman said the dispute over the remittance of the five per cent Ticket and Cargo Sales Charge (TSC) was not about airlines’ unwillingness to pay statutory fees, but the burden created by the existing collection system.
He called for constructive engagement between the Federal Government and airline operators to develop a more efficient revenue collection mechanism.
Onyema suggested the introduction of a fixed unit charge that would eliminate disputes over which components of airfares should be subjected to the levy.
“Going into aviation is not a piece of cake. It is an industry that is not very rewarding. It is capital-intensive, yet less rewarding.
“Today, we are facing a phase that poses existential threats. Except something drastic is done very quickly within the next 30 days, a lot of airlines might go extinct,” he said.
Onyema also criticised threats by labour unions to picket airlines over the dispute, describing the move as unprecedented and an attempt to intimidate operators.
He said airlines had consistently engaged with the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) and the Federal Ministry of Aviation, stressing that the industry had no dispute with labour unions.
According to him, Nigerian airlines are operating in extremely difficult conditions, with high borrowing costs, inadequate infrastructure, bird strikes and multiple operational charges placing additional pressure on their businesses.
“If they picket any airline, others will go because there’s no need for that. There is nowhere in the world that government agencies use unions to talk about issues of debt,” Onyema said.
He urged the Federal Government to intervene urgently to prevent further airline failures, noting that more than 50 Nigerian airlines had collapsed over the years despite the success of their owners in other sectors.
The Air Peace chairman expressed confidence that President Bola Tinubu remained committed to supporting indigenous carriers and would not allow the aviation industry to collapse.
Onyema called for policies aimed at strengthening rather than weakening domestic airlines, stressing that a viable local airline industry was essential to the long-term sustainability of Nigeria’s aviation sector.
